China has expanded its visa-free policy to nine additional countries, including eight in Europe, allowing their citizens to enter for up to 30 days without a visa for business, tourism, and other visits starting Nov. 30, 2024.

The policy now includes Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, and Latvia, alongside other nations already benefiting from China's open-door approach. Officials and tourism professionals from the newly included countries have welcomed the move as a step toward stronger bilateral ties.

Malta's Deputy Prime Minister, Ian Borg, hailed the policy on Friday as another milestone in the long-standing bilateral relations between the two countries.

"This visa-free agreement reflects the strong mutual trust and commitment to fostering closer ties in tourism, business, and cultural exchange," Borg, who is also Malta's minister for foreign and European affairs and trade, said in a press release.

"It simplifies travel for our citizens but also paves the way for deeper cooperation and new international trade opportunities," he added.

For Croatian tour guide Branka Peric, the visa-free policy is "certainly good news" for tourism and those who work in the tourism sector.

Peric, a long-time tour guide who is establishing her own travel agency, said the latest visa-free policy showcased China's opening up to the outside world and will result in more friendly ties between China and Croatia.

"China and Croatia have a long history of good relations, and this has been confirmed in many cases. China has shown that it can successfully cooperate with much smaller countries like Croatia and to the benefit of both sides," she noted.

Xie Dong, a Chinese inbound tour guide for Latvia and Estonia, also agreed that China's new visa-free policy would boost tourism between the two Baltic countries and China, calling for direct flights between China and the Baltic countries.

For Nina Merlusca, who is the destination manager of Romanian tourism city Piatra-Neamt, the visa-free policy for Romanian ordinary passport holders will "increase cooperation between the two countries."

Based on her personal experiences of traveling in China, she said that China is a very friendly country to tourists.

Starting from Nov. 30, 2024, ordinary passport holders from a total of 38 countries within China's visa-free arrangement can enter China without a need to apply for a visa for the purposes of business, tourism, family visits, exchanges and visits and transit, with stays of no more than 30 days. 

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